It’s a beautiful Fall day here in Missoula. Mom is attending a Memorial Service for a family friend. This a normal thing for her to do – so this is HUGE progress. This little apartment has seen a lot of activity for the last two weeks.

Two weeks ago Mom had colon resection surgery. About a third of her colon was removed (on the right side) along with the cancer inside the colon and 40 lymph nodes outside but near the colon. She was in the hospital for one week. Upon her arrival home, grandkids started coming to visit and it has been a whirlwind of activity since then. They have all returned to their homes and it’s darn quiet around here.

Emily and Ella arrived at midnight the day after Mom came home and of course she stayed awake until we got home from the airport. Then Megan and Zeb arrived the following night. Have you ever noticed how when there’s a baby in the house, everyone else becomes who they are to the baby? For example, Mom became Grandma Andersen, Zeb became Uncle Zeb, I became Grandma Heidi and so on. Ella particularly liked feeling and pulling Uncle Zeb’s beard.

They were here just enough days to get to most of our favorite restaurants. For those of you familiar with Missoula that would be, The Montana Club, Dairy Queen (Missoula’s DQ is different than any other) Paul’s Pancake Parlor, The Mustard Seed, Jaker’s, and we’ve added Café Rio and somehow missed Hoagieville this time. So many places to eat and so little time.

Grandma Andersen is doing VERY WELL. Her week in the hospital seemed to go very quickly. She didn’t eat anything for 4 days and then gradually started eating. It’s kind of amazing to me that they could basically take out a “section of pipe” and reconnect the two ends and then just carry on like usual. However, that seems to be what’s going on. There are literally no diet restrictions.  

FAQ’s:

How big was the cancer?

About the size of a grapefruit

Were the lymph nodes cancerous?

No

Will she have to have chemo?

Probably not – don’t know for sure yet

What will change in her life?

She will have the normal recovery you have after a surgery, but in the not-too-distant future she will be buzzing around town in her big old Buick. She will have periodic tests to determine whether or not the cancer has returned.

What about the pancreas and the thyroid?

No cancer and no cancer!!!

We are sitting here in Room 229 at Missoula Community Medical Center. We are watching The Waltons which is a real treat since Mom doesn’t own a television. It’s like being on vacation and staying in a motel and watching TV…..well kinda. I mean after all, she did have colon cancer surgery this morning.

According to Dr. Richards the surgery went very well. A portion of the colon was removed along with several lymph nodes. These lymph nodes are very likely cancerous, but it did not appear as if the cancer had spread to any other organs. They will be tested and down the road a bit they will either recommend chemo therapy or they will not. But for now, it’s time to heal from the surgery.

Mom claims there is very little pain, but then she describes childbirth as “a bit uncomfortable” and “not really painful, it just feels like pressure”. At any rate, her high tolerance for pain is serving her well. They will be getting her up tomorrow morning for a little walk and then again and again and again. They say that will be the key to successful healing.

So, all in all, this has been a successful day!

So, there’s this thing going on with my 3-year-old grandson Noah. He has his Mom take a photo of him and then text it to me. Then I send him a photo back. The thing that has captured his interest lately is signs – not just plain old signs, but signs that have figures drawn on them so he can “read” them. It started with this one.

Noah: “Send this to Grandma Heidi”

This was my response.

As I thought about it, I was sure I could find a better sign than a fire truck, so the next day I recruited Mom to drive up to Blue Mountain with me to find a bear sign. We couldn't find any bear signs up Blue Mountain, but we did get this just at dusk.

We both decided that we really needed a bear sign for Noah and that the best place to find one was Pattee Canyon. If you know my Mom, you know she makes lists of things she’s going to do the next day. As I looked on her list that was printed on the back of an envelope, there at the top of the list was, “10:00 – Pattee Canyon, find bear sign”.

The next morning, off we went to Pattee Canyon to find a bear sign. We left at 10:00 and should have been back by 11:30 at the latest, but as we arrived home at 7:00 p.m. we chatted about how we are going to drive all over Montana taking photos of signs and then compile a book entitled Signs of Montana. This all started with sending sign photos to Noah and now we have several road trips planned when she starts feeling better.

We drove all the way through Pattee Canyon and then on to Rock Creek in search of a bear sign. We drove all the way out on Rock Creek road until the road was getting too narrow for the big old Buick. We finally found a bear sign. We took lots of sign photos that I will send to Noah at a rate of one per day to make them last until we can capture more signs. Here is a preview of our upcoming book and a glimpse of what our day entailed:

I am so glad we had that fun ride on Monday because Tuesday brought us the news that Mom will be having her surgery on Friday for sure. Mom is ready to get this done and start the healing process so we can be out driving the back roads of Western Montana again.

The surgery will be a “colon resection”. She will have about a third of her colon removed. The section being removed is called the ascending colon and is on her right side. Mom said, “The way Dr. Richards explained it makes it sound so easy.”

I hope that is the case. Basically, he will take out the section containing the cancer and sew the end of the small intestine to the new end of the colon.

The surgery is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. on Friday, October 17. She was so excited to hear she could eat until midnight on the night before. She thought she couldn’t eat all day, so this was an unexpected pleasure. She hasn’t decided what she will eat on Thursday, but in the running are things from The Mustard Seed, Jakers and the Bucksnort Café up in Evaro. (I’m for the Bucksnort because we should see some good signs up by Evaro.)

The expected hospital stay is 7 days. She should be able to come home after that. However, it is possible she will transition out of the hospital through The Village Health Care Center for a short time. Mom is determined to come straight home from the hospital because Zeb and Megan will be arriving from Bellingham and Emily and Ella will be arriving from Cleveland on the 24^th. Mom will be meeting this great-grandchild for the first time. Thank you to Holly Hurst for flying out to Cleveland from Bountiful to wrangle Dan and Emily’s three very active little boys so Emily and Ella can come to Montana.

Through information derived from the surgery, the doctor will determine what stage the cancer is and if the lymph system is involved. Depending on this information, it will be determined whether she will also have chemo therapy.

Mom remains calm through this whole process. There has been much poking and prodding going on and she is ready for the surgery. She is ready for chemo. She is just plain ready. She wants to get on with this because after all, we have photos to take all over Montana and Hannah and Xavier will be welcoming a little boy into their family at the end of the year, so that is another great grandchild she has yet to meet and she still needs to buy curtains for her apartment. So, so many things to do.

And again, I ask for your thoughts and prayers.

Mom and I enjoyed a beautiful drive up to Kalispell on Tuesday. When you live in Montana you sometimes forget to look around at all the beautiful things that are so close. As we drove north to Kalispell we were oohing and ahhing at how beautiful and rugged the Mission Mountains are and then when we crested the hill approaching Polson, the beautiful blue of Flathead Lake was so striking because the day was bright and sunny that even the purpose of the trip couldn’t distract us from how beautiful the scenery was.

The reason for our little trek up to Kalispell was to see an oncologist who specializes in pancreatic cancer. As we are nearing a treatment plan, there seem to be so many t’s to cross and i’s to dot before proceeding. The tests Mom had taken to date were not definitive as to whether the “spot on the head of the pancreas” was cancerous or not. When meeting with the surgeon to schedule the surgery for the colon cancer, he was not comfortable with operating on the colon while the jury was still out so to speak on the possibility of pancreatic cancer. So, Dr. Richards, the surgeon in Missoula referred us to Dr. Sheldon, a surgical oncologist in Kalispell. Apparently, there is a highly specialized test they perform in the Kalispell hospital that is not available in Missoula.

This test determined that there is NOT pancreatic cancer. Yes, yes, yes! This is good news.

There is one more test scheduled for tomorrow which will take a look at the possible thyroid cancer. Whether this is or is not thyroid cancer, it will have no immediate effect on scheduling surgery for the colon cancer. As the doctors all seem to agree this is a very slow-growing cancer, it can be put on the backburner if it exists at all.

The surgery for the colon cancer is tentatively scheduled for October 17. This will be confirmed on Tuesday, October 14 when we have an appointment with Dr. Richards the surgeon.

Now, back to Kalispell. As we left the Kalispell Hospital at 6:00 p.m. we went to KFC to have a celebration dinner. Mom hadn’t eaten since the night before and she was hungry so she had some yummy potatoes and gravy and a biscuit and a little chicken. She also had an A & W Root Beer. What a feast! She kept saying how wonderful the food was and how great it was to have a Root Beer. She was relieved about the news and enjoyed her food immensely.

Since we were leaving Kalispell at sunset, I kept stopping trying to get a good photo of Flathead Lake. She was very patient and just sat in the car sipping her Root Beer while I stopped at several places to find a good shot. It was a full moon and it lit up the night so we could see the deer crossing the road heading down to the lake to get a drink. This is one of Mom’s favorite things to do. In fact, we refer to it as going on a “deer drive”.

Last weekend Mark, Laurie and Jacob came to visit. Sarah, Brian and their three children also came to visit and it was wonderful. On Friday night we went out to eat with Sarah and her family at an old Missoula favorite, Paul’s Pancake Parlor. Mom totally loved it, especially watching Alice, George and Joshua.

The following day Mark, Laurie and Jacob arrived. Since it was Laurie’s birthday, Mom had the most fun making a “birthday pumpkin” for Laurie. I made some “angry bird sandwiches” for Sarah’s kids and I actually think Brian was more excited about them than the kids. Marie joined us all and it was a great time at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Mom continues to be calm and peaceful. She is ready for the surgery and the potential chemo therapy treatment that may follow.

These are some questions that seem to come up.

What stage is the colon cancer?

The staging is only done through surgery. Until they can see inside, they don’t stage it.

Will she have chemo therapy?

Again, we won’t know until the surgery is performed. They will be looking to see if the lymph system is involved. Odds are, she will have chemotherapy.

How long will recovery take?

She will be in the hospital for about a week. After that it is important for her to move around (as in exercise) as much as she can for the healing to occur. No additional time estimate was offered.

Is it safe for someone of her age to have surgery?

There are always risks when anyone has surgery. However, over and over again we have heard, “You are a very healthy 85-year-old woman.” Again, the more she can exercise post-op, the better it is for her so we are hiking up to the "M" every morning at 6:00 a.m. (just kidding)

Does she have to have the surgery?

Yes. If she doesn’t have the surgery and have it soon, there will be a blockage in her colon and that would be devastating. That needs to be prevented at all costs.

So, the big event for today is Mom and I are off to Walgreen’s to have our flu shots. Megan and Zeb will be postponing their visit until the 24^th so they can come when Emily and Ella are here. 

Mom is also going to Shopko to look at curtains. For those of you who know my Mom, this is a big event. She has been in her little apartment for about 2 ½ years now. She has had sheets hanging on the windows since she’s been there. They are attractive sheets as she says, but sheets nonetheless. Whenever Mark comes to visit he asks her when she is going to put some curtains up and she just tells him she’ll do it when she’s good and ready and there’s no reason to rush into it. When I got here a few weeks ago I asked her when she was going to put some curtains up and she said, “Oh, you and your brother say the same thing. I don’t want to put them up until I’m ready.” So, the curtain thing – that’s a big deal.

I am trying to get her to go to a Missoula Maulers Ice Hockey game this weekend. She’s thinking about it…….

Many of you already know what’s going on here in Missoula, Montana with Mom. Some may know bits and pieces of it, but are not sure of any details. As we go from day-to-day from test to doctor visit to another test to another doctor visit, I am discovering it is almost impossible to keep up with sharing information because it is ever-changing. So, with Mom’s permission, I have started this blog to keep family and friends informed. I will also apologize in advance for any error on my part in conveying information. I will do my level best to be as informative as possible and accurate in sharing information from doctors, but those guys are way smarter than me and speak a different language.

On September 15, Mom was diagnosed with colon cancer.

This was discovered during a colonoscopy. Mom had gone to see her primary care physician, Dr. Hubbard, because she had lost quite a bit of weight, but it seemed inexplicable. She started losing weight last January and like many of us would have been, she was quite pleased with the weight loss. However, by the time September rolled around, she was less pleased and more curious. Other than this weight loss, there were no other symptoms. Dr. Hubbard, along with Suzy and Marie, was quite insistent that she have the colonoscopy and so it was scheduled for September 15 and off go Mom and Marie to the colonoscopy. Neither one really thought it was going to reveal anything, but they thought it would be good to have it done to rule out the possibility of cancer.

Marie describes waiting with Mom for Dr. Trevaline to come back in the room and discuss possible findings with them. Mom had been given a drug to sedate her and we understood that it would also create amnesia for the period of time she was under it’s influence. What a great idea. Who would really want to remember a colonoscopy?

Mom is actually very entertaining when she is “on drugs”. So, Marie and Mom had been laughing and talking when Dr. Trevaline came back in the room. He very simply stated that Mom had colon cancer. I believe Mom asked him if he was kidding and he said he never kidded about things like that. She then said, “Wouldn’t that just frost you?”

Since that day, things have moved very quickly. A CT Scan was immediately ordered and an appointment made with Dr. Patrick Archie, an Oncologist. The CT Scan showed additional information about the colon cancer. However, it also showed “a worrisome spot on the pancreas” and “bile duct enlargement”. So, the CT Scan led to an Endoscopy. During the Endoscopy a biopsy was performed and a tissue sample was sent to the Mayo Clinic to determine if it was malignant.

(This was the yummy Barium she had to drink prior to the Pet Scan. She was hoping they had Lemonade flavor, but they did not. They asked if she would like Mocha, Berry, Banana or Vanilla. She chose Berry only to have them discover they were out of Berry. She then decided upon Vanilla and said, "I will just pretend it is a Vanilla Milkshake". So, this is Mom drinking her Vanilla Barium Milkshake.)

These test results led to a PET Scan, an MRI, an appointment with a surgeon, Dr. Richards, and another appointment with Dr. Archie on September 29. The PET Scan showed activity around the pancreas that was worrisome. The MRI showed activity around the pancreas that was not worrisome. The results from the Mayo Clinic are not back yet. Apparently, those results will be the tie-breaker. (Probably, if a doctor read that last sentence, he would groan, but that’s how I understood it.)

Unfortunately, the MRI showed a probable thyroid cancer. A biopsy has been scheduled to find out more about that. Dr. Archie said that thyroid cancer grows very slowly and to try not to worry about that. That one should be dealt with last. Believe it or not, when he told Mom not to worry about it, she decided to follow his advice. She’s going to set fretting about that one aside for now. I don’t know if I could do the same.

So, the score is this:

• Colon Cancer for sure, hoping to do surgery soon – as soon as we find out more about these other 2 annoying possible cancers.
• Pancreatic Cancer – We just don’t know for sure. There is another appointment scheduled with Dr. Archie (Oncologist) for this Thursday when we should have the test results back from the Mayo Clinic.
• Thyroid Cancer – We will know for sure when we get the results of the upcoming biopsy.

Mom is worried, but peaceful. She continues to putter like always. She is very obedient about her new dietary restrictions and we will be walking every day now to better prepare for possible surgery.

I am very fortunate to be able to be here right now to help keep track of doctor appointments, tests, etc. We have kind of been like naughty children staying up ‘til all hours of the night talking and giggling about things. I know that my siblings are all wishing they could spend more time with her right now.

Mom is looking forward to Mark, Laurie and Jacob along with Brian and Sarah and their littles coming to visit this weekend. Megan and Zeb are coming to visit from Washington on the weekend of October 10. Emily and Ella are flying out on October 24 to stay for five days.

While I was talking to Mark a week ago after the first meeting with the Oncologist, we were both discussing our frustration that the results from the Mayo Clinic had not been available. We both believed that those results would have been available and that we would know what possible treatment plans were and move along with treatment. I had said, “Well, next week we will have the test results and Mom can make a decision and we will be able to move forward.”

Mark did not agree. He felt that a pattern was being established that there was always going to be another test or another opinion or another option to hurry up and wait for results on. I would have to say, “You called it, Mark.”

For those of you who have already gone on this journey with a loved one, you probably could have “called it” too. It seems that information is only discoverable on a day-to-day, procedure-to-procedure basis.

Mom is ready to take it on, a day at a time. Thank you for sending love and support her way. She feels it and appreciates it.